Motor Cycling - A History of the Early Motorcycle

John H. Wyatt

Description

Originally published in 1925, this book is a fascinating history of the early motorcycle. This book is a detailed guide, packed with photos and diagrams, and of much interest to any motorcycle enthusiast. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents include Historical and Introductory: Early Aspirations: Engine Position, Pedalling Gear, Quads. The Choice of a Mount: Speed, Weight, Price, New or Second Hand, Single or Twin. The Prime Mover: The Four-Stroke Engine, The Four Stroke Valve and Ignition etc. Carburetion and Ignition Engine Suction, Automatic or Two Lever Carburettors, Reliability of Magnetos. Frame-Design and Cycle Parts: Diamond and Loop Frames, Spring Frames and Forks etc. Variable Gears and Transmission: Two, Three or Four Speeds, Gear Boxes etc. Passenger Machines: Trailer, Four Car, Tri Car, Side Car etc. Accessories, Spares and Tools: Lamps, Dynamo, Lighting Outfits, Speedometers etc. Driving and Up Keep: Starting the Engine, Gear Changing etc Troubles on the Road: Refusal to Start, Choked Petrol Pipe or Jet etc. Touring and Reliability Trials: Motor Cycling Club Trials, Stock Machine Trial, Scottish Six Days, Ascent of Snowdon. Motor Cycle Racing Notable Motor Cycles Motor Cycle Records.

Sujets

• Pictorial
• Motorcycles
• Transportation

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 30 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781447486541
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

MOTOR CYCLING
A HISTORY OF THE EARLY MOTORCYCLE
By
JOHN H. WYATT

First published in 1925



Copyright © 2021 Read & Co. Books
This edition is published by Read & Co. Books, an imprint of Read & Co.
This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Read & Co. is part of Read Books Ltd. For more information visit www.readandcobooks.co.uk


Contents
MOTORCYCLING
CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL AND INTRODUCTORY
CHAPTER II
THE CHOIC E OF A MOUNT
CHAPTER III
THE PRIME MOVER
CHAPTER IV
CARBURATION A ND IGNITION.
CHAPTER V
FRAME-DESIGN AND CYCLE PARTS
CHAPTER VI
VARIABLE GEARS AND TRANSMISSION
CHAPTER VII
PASSEN GER MACHINES
CHAPTER VIII
ACCESSORIES, SPAR ES AND TOOLS
CHAPTER IX
DRIVIN G AND UPKEEP
CHAPTER X
TROUBLES ON THE ROAD
CHAPTER XI
TOURING AND RELIAB ILITY TRIALS
CHAPTER XII
MOTOR CYCLE RACING
CHAPTER XIII
NOTABLE MOTOR CYCLES
APPENDIX
MOTOR C YCLE RECORDS


Illustrations
The Scott Super-Squirr el Two-Speed
Timing-Gear of Twin-Cyl inder B.S.A.
Ricardo-Triumph 4-Valve Engine with Masked Inlet Valves
Section of the B.S.A. Overhead Valve Engine
Contact-Breaker of M.l. Magneto, with C over Removed
B.S.A. Dry-Plate Single -Disc Clutch
Indian Super-Chief and Side-Car
A.J.S. Twin-Cylinder Sid e-Car Outfit
Sporting B.S.A., of the Type that Asce nded Snowdon
Sporting A.J.S., with Ove rhead Valves




MOTORCYCLING
Motorcycling can be a hobby, a sport, a mode of transport or a fashion statement – though for most people in the world, motorcycling is the only affordable form of individual motorized tra nsportation.
Statistically, there is a large difference between the car-dominated developed world, and the more populous developing world, where cars are less common than motorcycles. In the developed world, motorcycles are frequently owned in addition to a car, and thus used primarily for recreation or when traffic density means a motorcycle confers travel time or parking advantages as a mode of transport. In the developing world a motorcycle is more likely to be the primary mode of transport for its owner, and often the owner's family as well. It is not uncommon for riders to transport multiple passengers or large goods aboard small motorcycles and scooters – simply because there is no better a lternative.
The simplicity demanded of motorcycles, coupled with the high volume of sales possible makes them a profitable and appealing product for major manufacturers – who go to substantial lengths to attract and retain market share. Of all the motorcycles in the world, 58% are in the Asia Pacific and Southern and Eastern Asia regions, excluding car-centric Japan. In the developed world, motorcycling goes beyond being just a mode of motor transportation or sport. It is also leisure activity and numerous subcultures and lifestyles have evolved around the use of motorcycles. Although mainly a solo activity, motorcycling can be very social and motorcyclists tend to have a strong sense of community.
There are many reasons for riding a motorcycle, for most riders, a motorcycle is a cheaper and more convenient form of transportation which causes less commuter congestion within cities and has less environmental impacts than automobile ownership. Others ride as a way to relieve stress and to 'clear their minds' as described in Robert M. Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance . Pirsig contrasted the sense of connection experienced by motorcyclists with the isolation of drivers who are 'always in a compartment', passively observing the passing landscape. The connection to ones motorcycle is sensed further, as Pirsig explained, by the frequent need to maintain its mechanical operation.
Speed is another large factor which draws many people to motorcycling, because the power-to-weight ratios of even low-power motorcycles rivals that of an expensive sports car. The power-to-weight ratio of many modestly priced sport bikes is well beyond any mass-produced car. Hunter S. Thompson's book Hell's Angels includes an ode to the joys of pushing a motorcycle to its limits, 'with the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin, and no room at all for mistakes ... that's when the strange music starts ... fear becomes exhilaration [and the] only sounds are the wind and a dull roar floating back from the mufflers' and T. E. Lawrence wrote of the 'lustfulness of moving swiftly' and the 'pleasure of speeding on the road.' A sensation he compared to feeling 'the earth moulding herself under me ... coming alive ... and heaving and tossing on each side like a sea.'
About 200 million motorcycles, including mopeds, motor scooters, motorised bicycles, and other powered two and three-wheelers, are in use worldwide, or about 33 motorcycles per 1000 people. By comparison, there are about 1 billion cars in the world, or about 141 per 1000 people, with about one third in service in Japan and the United States. Despite their popularity, motorcycles do pose significant risks however. The relative risk of a motorcycle rider being killed or seriously injured per kilometre travelled was around 54 times higher in Great Britain in 2006 than for car drivers. United States Department of Transportation data for 2005 showed that for passenger cars, 18.62 fatal crashes occur per 100,000 vehicles. For motorcycles this figure is 75.19 per 100,000 vehicles – four times higher tha n for cars.
To address motorcycle safety issues, motorcycle-specific training and personal protective equipment is important for motorcyclists' survival on the road, and mandated in many countries and several U.S. states and counties. Helmet usage reduces the chance for death in an accident by 40% and the risk of serious injury by 70%. While helmet usage generally is increasing world-wide and 77% of the worlds population is covered by extensive helmet laws, many countries still lack sufficient enforcement. Pakistan has both laws requiring driver and passenger to wear a helmet and regulations on helmet standards – but still, only 10% of all riders in Pakistan wea r a helmet.
Motorcycling lifestyles have been adopted by many different groups spanning nations and cultures. They include commuters, mainstream motorcycle clubs such as long-distance riding clubs, adventurer touring, trail riding and those involved with motorcycle sports, such as motocross riding, drag racing, circuit racing and trick or stunt e nthusiasts.
Around the world, motorcycles have historically been associated with highly visible subcultures (such as the scooter riders and cafe racer riders of the 1950s and 60s in Great Britain), and they often are seen as inhabiting the fringes of society. Numerous books about motorcycle subcultures have been written, including Hunter S. Thompson's (previously mentioned) Hells Angels , Lee Gutkind's Bike Fever , and Daniel R. Wolf's The Rebels . There are also several 'outlaw motorcycle gangs', occasionally getting in trouble with the law, such as the Pagans, Hells Angels, Outlaws MC, and Bandidos – known as the 'Big Four.'
Motorcycling is a truly fascinating means of transport, with fans and adherents spread out all over the globe. It is hoped that the reader enjoys this book on the subject, and is maybe inspired to try some motorcycling for themselves.


MOTOR CYCLING
A HISTORY OF THE EARLY MOTORCYCLE




The Scott Super-Squirr el Two-Speed


CHAPTER I
HISTORICAL AND INTRODUCTORY
THE history of the motor cycle does not go back far. At the beginning of the present century these machines were very scarce, and needless to say very crude.
Even in the early days, however, the pioneers had ideas of the wonderful possibilities of mechanically propelled bicycles; they were then considered extravagant, but have since been realized in part. For instance, an old print shows a man on a motor cycle flying across a river; at the present time long jumping on motor bicycles is a recognized feature of gymkhanas, and by the use of a suitable platform a distance of about sixty feet has been cleared, the machine and rider rising to a height of five or six feet at mid-distance. This sort of jumping is, of course, in a sense artificial, but a machine will often leave the ground for a few feet when crossing a hump-backed bridge at speed. A beginner is not advised to try these stunts because the machine will sometimes wobble sharply when it meets the ground again, and if not in skilful hands this may lead to disaster.
The application of power to a bicycle or tricycle was made possible by the invention of the internal combustion engine, which, as its name implies, burns its fuel inside the cyclinder and not, as in the case of a steam engine, outside a separate boiler for the generation of steam. The pressure on the piston is provided by the exploded gas, and the engine depends for its power to a large extent upon the speed at which it rotates. Naturally an engine must be small in size and light in weight if it is to be suitable for propelling a cycle; for this reason a steam engine, with its separate boiler and a burner with which to heat it, has never been successful commercially as a power unit for a bicycle, though the mechanical difficulties of fitting it can be overcome.
How an internal combustion engine works will be explained later. It is sufficient to state here that it combines considerable power with relatively light weight, and uses a fuel which can be conveniently carried in sufficient quantity for a